# 29 year old bottle of Chivas Regal



## incognito (Feb 15, 2008)

Shabby just brought home a bottle of Chivas Regal that belonged to my grandfather. He died in 1991, and the bottle says "Aged 12 Years," so we figure at the minimum, it's 29 years old. 

Is it like wine? Does Scotch get better with age? 
(New, unopened bottle   )


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## AD720 (Jan 14, 2008)

The way understand it, and please correct me if I a wrong, is no. Since the aging process ends once it is out of the barrel and into the bottle. 

BUT - 

My personal experience has shown me, from enjoying a 60 year old bottle of Dewers with friends and more recently being about half way through a bottle of Seagrams from 1984 that I found sealed in my grandparents basement, that it does taste better and smoother. Plus it is a pretty cool feeling knowing my grand pop bought that when I was just a wee lad, knee high to a grasshopper. 

I think that it was just made differently back then. :2


I say crack that CR open and go to town.


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## Shabalula (Feb 24, 2007)

We opened it last night, rather I opened it. The missus is a beer girl 

It was good, went well with a Padron 3000. I'll work on it some more tonight.:ss

Thanks for the info :tu


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## DETROITPHA357 (Jul 8, 2006)

AD720 said:


> The way understand it, and please correct me if I a wrong, is no. Since the aging process ends once it is out of the barrel and into the bottle.


:tpd:


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## Jay Hemingway-cl (Oct 21, 2007)

thats an excellent find my friend.....


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## bilkay (Feb 6, 2008)

AD720 said:


> The way understand it, and please correct me if I a wrong, is no. Since the aging process ends once it is out of the barrel and into the bottle.


:tpd:


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## cbsmokin (Oct 10, 2007)

I doubt the aging helped any but knowing who it belonged to should make it taste better, enjoy!


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## jagmqt (Feb 22, 2007)

AD720 said:


> The way understand it, and please correct me if I a wrong, is no. Since the aging process ends once it is out of the barrel and into the bottle.





DETROITPHA357 said:


> :tpd:





bilkay said:


> :tpd:





cbsmokin said:


> I doubt the aging helped any but knowing who it belonged to should make it taste better, enjoy!


:tpd:

The age won't affect the flavor, but it should enhance your experience!

jag


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## Mark C (Sep 19, 2007)

My guess is that wine changes over time because there are a lot more facets to the drink to begin with. Liquor is distilled to almost pure alcohol and then watered down to drinking strength. The chemicals/compounds in wine that evolve over time (acids, tannins, etc) just aren't found in liquor.

But with that said, chances are they're not using the same recipe or methods today as they were 29 yrs ago. I'll bet something has changed, whether the company will admit to it or not.


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## jagmqt (Feb 22, 2007)

Mark C said:


> My guess is that wine changes over time because there are a lot more facets to the drink to begin with. Liquor is distilled to almost pure alcohol and then watered down to drinking strength. The chemicals/compounds in wine that evolve over time (acids, tannins, etc) just aren't found in liquor.
> 
> But with that said, chances are they're not using the same recipe or methods today as they were 29 yrs ago. I'll bet something has changed, whether the company will admit to it or not.


Not really.
(I'm not trying to be flippant, buy you may have misspoke a little)

Wine changes with age because there are still active yeasts working on the sugars...distillation kills the yeast, so the only aging comes from the acid working on the tanin in the casks.

Liquor is distilled, then aged in the casks...not distilled and water re-added...the only time it sees water again is when you put ice in the drink.

Wine and liquor are aged in the same types of oak casks...that's where the tanin comes from...and the type of wine or liquor determine the number of ingredients...there is no universal truth that wine has more facets.

I'd bet that Chivas is using the same methods they were using 29 years ago. In fact, I'd bet they are using water from the same stream, barrels made from wood from the same forests, ingredients grown in the same fields under the same conditions in the same soil...and a recipe, fermentation, and distillation methods that they've used for over 100 years. Along with many of the other high-end liquor brands and wines. There is great pride among the makers of these high end spirits and they rely on their tradition to ensure their consistency and quality. Some of the old scotch distilliaries have been around since the early 1800s and are run the same way today...Jack Daniels has been around since 1875 and they still boast of the same traditions...

jag


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## JacksonCognac (Nov 12, 2007)

An interesting thread with some interesting discussion developing. No matter what has or hasn't happened to that bottle over the years I hope you enjoy it because it sounds really cool.


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## mosesbotbol (Sep 21, 2005)

There are changes that happen to any beverage in a bottle over time. It is not Chivas' intention to their age bottles.


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## Mark C (Sep 19, 2007)

jagmqt said:


> Not really.
> Wine changes with age because there are still active yeasts working on the sugars...distillation kills the yeast, so the only aging comes from the acid working on the tanin in the casks.


If that were the case, why aren't white wines aged as long as red (generally speaking)? And if there are still active yeasts in your bottle, you'll end up with a sparkling wine, or at least effervescent. Winemakers go to great lengths to kill/remove active yeasts. Alcohol content alone will usually do the trick. One of the most obvious effects of age on a bottle of wine is softening of the tannins. This is why reds see more benefit from age than white, since the majority of the tannins come from the skins, with 'extra' if oak barrels are used (particularly new oak). Over time, the tannins break down and the wine becomes smoother, softer, and less bitter/astringent. Liquor only gets tannins from the barrels, which are rarely new (Only bourbon uses new oak I believe).



> Liquor is distilled, then aged in the casks...not distilled and water re-added...the only time it sees water again is when you put ice in the drink.


Very few liquors are bottled at cask-strength. Most are diluted either at bottling, or immediately after distillation depending on the type of still used. Some liquors (not Scotch) are distilled to a high alcohol content and then cut when put into barrels, others are casked at high proof and 'topped off' with water during the aging process.



> there is no universal truth that wine has more facets.


Wine is a 'whole' product, nothing is added or removed once the fermentation is complete. Liquor goes a step further. During the distillation process, several compounds are intentionally removed, typically referred to as the 'heads and tails' of the distillation. Some of these compounds removed are responsible for adding to the flavor and character of the base distillate (or wine). After distillation, you're putting a much more refined product into the barrel, whereas the wine you put into barrel is still a raw fermentation product. Liquors may not have any less 'facets', but they certainly have less chemical compounds present.


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## Tredegar (Nov 27, 2007)

Correct on the bourbon thing using only new barrels. Ever wonder what Jack Daniels does with their old barrels? Well, Tabasco needs barrels to ferment their peppers and the old JD barrels are the perfect item for them. So every bottle of Tabasco comes from fermented peppers in used barrels.


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## joed (Nov 12, 2005)

jagmqt said:


> Not really.
> (I'm not trying to be flippant, buy you may have misspoke a little)
> 
> Wine changes with age because there are still active yeasts working on the sugars...distillation kills the yeast, so the only aging comes from the acid working on the tanin in the casks.
> ...


Chivas is a blended whiskey and not a single malt - so - it the blenders are doing their job correctly - the taste should be pretty much the same.


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## Shabalula (Feb 24, 2007)

Thanks for the info guys, I cracked it open last weekend. I'm gonna work some more on it this weekend. I say "I" 'cause Incognito won't touch the hard stuff. :hn


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